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This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has started its journey from upstate New York to Manhattan. (Published Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016)

This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has started its journey from upstate New York to Manhattan.

The 94-foot Norway spruce, owned by Angie and Graig Eichler, was cut down Thursday morning in Oneonta. Two massive cranes moved the tree, the second largest to ever grace Rockefeller Center, onto a flatbed truck. It will be driven 140 miles to Manhattan, where it's due to arrive on Saturday.

Eichler said Thursday his family was excited to donate the tree, adding it was a big deal for the Oneonta community. About 100 people turned out to watch the spectacle.

"We'll miss the shade but for the most part we're happy to gain the space back because it did monopolize the entire yard," Eichler said.

Photo credit: @robynmalocsay2

Photo credit: @robynmalocsay2

Photo credit: @robynmalocsay2

Photo credit: @robynmalocsay2

The tree's 50,000 lights will be switched on during a live television broadcast on Nov. 30. The spruce will stay on display until Jan. 7. Rockefeller Center's trees are usually milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity after they're taken down.

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put up in 1931 by workers building the complex during the Great Depression. The first official tree lighting there was in 1933.